He came in full tactical gear, helmet, everything visible.
En una tarde de sábado en Buffalo, Nueva York, la violencia racista cobró diez vidas cuando un joven de dieciocho años abrió fuego en un supermercado frecuentado por una comunidad mayoritariamente negra. El ataque, minuciosamente planeado durante meses y transmitido en vivo por internet, no fue un estallido impulsivo sino el resultado de una ideología cultivada en silencio. Una vez más, la sociedad estadounidense se enfrenta a la pregunta que no ha sabido responder: cómo detener el odio antes de que se convierta en masacre.
- Un joven armado con un AR-15 y equipado con armadura militar irrumpió en un supermercado de Buffalo y mató a diez personas, once de las trece víctimas eran negras.
- El atacante transmitió la masacre en vivo por Twitch, convirtiendo el horror en espectáculo y exponiendo la incapacidad de las plataformas digitales para frenar el extremismo en tiempo real.
- Las señales de alerta existían: en 2021 había hecho amenazas en su escuela, fue evaluado y liberado, y aun así pudo adquirir legalmente el arma que usaría meses después.
- El sospechoso dejó un manifiesto de 180 páginas que detalla su ideología racista y la planificación del ataque, un documento que las autoridades siguen investigando.
- Payton Gendron enfrenta cargos de asesinato en primer grado y podría pasar el resto de su vida en prisión, mientras las autoridades evalúan cargos adicionales.
Un sábado por la tarde en Buffalo, Nueva York, Payton Gendron, de dieciocho años, entró al supermercado Tops Friendly Market con un rifle AR-15, equipo militar y una cámara transmitiendo en vivo a Twitch. Al terminar, diez personas habían muerto y tres más estaban heridas. Once de las trece víctimas eran negras.
Gendron había comprado el rifle legalmente, aunque la munición que usó estaba prohibida por la ley estatal de Nueva York. Primero disparó afuera del local, donde cayeron cuatro personas. Luego enfrentó a Aaron Salter Jr., un exoficial de policía que trabajaba como guardia de seguridad y que le disparó varias veces sin poder detenerlo. Gendron entró al edificio y mató a ocho personas más.
El ataque fue el resultado de una planificación meticulosa. El día anterior había visitado el área para reconocer el lugar, incluso ingresando al supermercado haciéndose pasar por una persona sin hogar. Eligió ese establecimiento porque estaba ubicado en un barrio con una gran población negra. Antes del ataque, redactó un manifiesto de 180 páginas en el que explicaba sus motivaciones y documentaba sus preparativos. Tras su arresto, confesó haber elegido deliberadamente a sus víctimas por su raza.
Las señales de peligro no eran nuevas. En junio de 2021, Gendron había proferido amenazas en su escuela secundaria en Conklin. Fue evaluado médicamente y liberado. Nadie le impidió comprar un arma. El comisionado de policía de Buffalo calificó el ataque como un crimen de odio racialmente motivado, sin ambigüedades.
Ahora enfrenta cargos de asesinato en primer grado, que ha negado, con una posible condena de cadena perpetua. Las autoridades estudian cargos adicionales mientras continúa la investigación sobre el manifiesto que dejó atrás: un retrato perturbador de cómo un adolescente en el norte del estado de Nueva York llegó a planear y ejecutar una de las masacres más mortíferas de la historia reciente de Estados Unidos.
On a Saturday afternoon in Buffalo, New York, a gunman walked into a Tops Friendly Market supermarket carrying an AR-15 rifle, military gear, and a helmet. He was livestreaming to Twitch. By the time he left, ten people were dead and three others wounded. The shooter was Payton Gendron, eighteen years old, a resident of Conklin, a town about two hundred miles southeast of Buffalo.
Gendron had purchased the rifle legally, but the ammunition he used was prohibited under New York state law. He arrived at the supermarket heavily armed and began firing. Four people fell outside the store. Then he shot at Aaron Salter Jr., a retired Buffalo police officer working as a security guard, who fired back multiple times but failed to stop him. Gendron entered the building and killed eight more people inside. Of the thirteen people shot that day, eleven were Black.
The attack bore the marks of careful planning. Police say Gendron had likely been preparing for months. He had visited the Buffalo area the day before, scouting the location. The supermarket manager, Shonnell Teague, recalled that he had come in beforehand, posing as a homeless person. Investigators believe he chose this particular store because it was in a neighborhood with a large Black population. He had even carved a name into his rifle—the name of a woman killed in a separate mass casualty incident in Wisconsin, an attack carried out by a Black man.
Before the shooting, Gendron wrote a 180-page manifesto laying out his motivations and documenting when he purchased the ammunition. After his arrest, he confessed to deliberately targeting Black victims. Police say he had studied other mass shootings while preparing his own attack. Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia called it a racially motivated hate crime, plain and simple.
Gendron's history included warning signs. In June 2021, he had made threats at a school—specifically at Susquehanna Valley High School in Conklin. The threat was not described as racially motivated at the time. He was evaluated medically and released from a hospital. No one stopped him from buying a gun.
Now he faces first-degree murder charges, which he has denied. If convicted, he faces life in prison. Authorities indicated they may file additional charges as the investigation continues. President Joe Biden described the shooter as a lone gunman armed with weapons of war and filled with hate, using the moment to call for increased police funding. The document Gendron left behind—his manifesto—remains under investigation, a window into how a teenager in upstate New York came to plan and execute one of the deadliest mass shootings in recent American history.
Notable Quotes
A racially motivated hate crime perpetrated by a gunman armed with weapons of war and filled with hate.— Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia
He came in the day before, posing as a homeless person, scouting the store.— Supermarket manager Shonnell Teague (paraphrased)
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did he choose this particular supermarket, in this particular neighborhood?
Investigators believe he selected it deliberately because of its location in a predominantly Black area. He had scouted it the day before, even visited inside posing as someone without a home. It wasn't random.
And the livestream—he was broadcasting this as it happened?
Yes, on Twitch. He came in full tactical gear, helmet, everything visible. He wanted people to see it in real time.
The manifesto—what did it contain?
A 180-page document explaining his motivations and detailing when he bought the ammunition. It's still being analyzed by investigators, but it shows this wasn't impulsive. He documented his own planning.
There was a prior incident at a school?
In June 2021, about a year before, he made threats at his high school. He was evaluated and released. The threat wasn't flagged as racially motivated at the time, but it was a warning that went unheeded.
How did he get the gun if the ammunition is illegal in New York?
The rifle itself was purchased legally. He obtained the prohibited ammunition separately. The system allowed him to buy the weapon even with that prior threat on record.
What happens to him now?
First-degree murder charges. Life in prison if convicted. But the investigation is ongoing—more charges may come.